National Atomic Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
The former Sandia Atomic Museum has been moved off of Kirtland Air Force Base and is now in downtown Albuquerque just a couple of blocks from Old Town.
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Vela nuclear detection satellites. |
 |
|
 |
A replica of Little Boy, the Hiroshima bomb |
 |
A replica of Fat Man, the Nagasaki bomb. |
 |
Left: Nazi memorabilia in the exhibit on German atomic bomb efforts. Political polarization and lack of resources doomed the project.
Below: The flag flown over Trinity site, the first atomic bomb test. |
 |
 |
 |
Left: Before calculators and personal computers there were slide rules. |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Cradle for transporting nuclear artillery shell. |
 |
16-inch shell for naval artillery, the only nuclear artillery shell ever stockpiled by the Navy. |
 |
Minuteman warheads. The one on the left survived a re-entry test. |
 |
The Mark 5 was a second generation atomic bomb, stockpiled from 1952 to 1963. |
 |
This is a Davy Crockett, intended for infantry use. Its aerodynamic clumsiness and short range led to its removal from the inventory. |
 |
|
 |
The small cylinder is a SADM (Small Atomic Demolition Munition), packing a sub-kiloton yield and designed for large demolitions. It could be carried by parachute and carried by means of a backpack attachment. |
 |
A "birdcage," used to hold the uranium for a nuclear artillery shell. |
 |
The Norden bomb sight used on the Enola Gay during the attack on Hiroshima.
Below: Our bad: in 1960, a B-52 collided with a tanker over Palomares, Spain while refueling, and its four atomic bombs fell to earth. Three bombs that fell on land were recovered quickly, but the fourth fell into the sea and was recovered after a lengthy search. Two bombs were destroyed when their conventional explosives detonated; the surviving two bomb casings are on display. |
 |
 |
 |
Left and below: photos of Russian nuclear weapons on display. The crossed out sign means "top secret." |
 |
 |
 |
Left: a mock-up of a fallout shelter designed for civilian use in the early Cold War. By the late 1960's the fallout shelter craze had mostly run its course.
Below: specimens of trinitite, fused sand from the Trinity test site. The glass has all been carted off by collectors or removed. |
 |
 |
 |
Debris from Hiroshima. |
 |
Redstone missile |
Return to Virtual FieldTrips Index
Return to Historic Sites Index
Return to Professor Dutch's Home Page
Created 28 March 2007, Last Update 04 June 2020